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laser eye surgery....

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Thanks for the link, that site is very helpful. 🙂

Thanks to all the others for their input as well. 🙂

Here's a question: Should I try to get it done sooner rather than later? My last checkup was in Oct, when the slumping was discovered. Can it unslump or heal? Or is the slumping (I guess it's where the retina is already starting to detach????) just going to get worse?
 
I think you should get it done as soon as possible... my brother is twenty and he says that the doctor said that its ok to get it done as long as your 18... i dunno though... ive heard lotsa different things... but from this forum ive heard mostly good things.... my bro thanks you for your support 🙂
 
remember, his sight wont be 20/20. It won't correct it that well. It will be close, but not exactly 20/20
 
why wont his sight be 20/20... Raspewtin said his sight went all the way to 20/15...

please elaborate...
 
I would suggest if you are seriously considering getting this done, go with a place that specialized in Lasik. There are several of these places around, and you get several benefits.

1) The have performed these so mayn times, that there is less likelyhood of a mess up
2) Since they have done do many, more likely to get 20/15 vision
3) They do so many that they've already made up the cost of their machine and can charge less ($500/eye in some cases.)
 
I know for a fact i'm going to get laser eye surgery in 7 years or so. I remember I had 20/15 vision about 4 years ago, but ever since i got into computers my eyesite has gone to sh!t. I'm 17 now and don't have glasses or contacts. My eyesite isn't bad, just things that are far away are blurry. I am able to ace all the doctors eye tests because before he tests me I squint and memorize everything, then I just repeat it from memory when he tests me. And I don't want to have to worry about glasses or contacts so hopefully they'll have this laser surgery stuff down by the time I want it, and it will be cheaper.
 
Az- Personally, I wouldn't get tempted and rush too much into this. If your last exam was last year, but you're considering the surgery relatively soon, I'd go get another eye exam done. Then talk to your eye doc about what you're considering and have him/her go through with you all the pros and cons of doing it right now with your particular problem. He might steer you away from it. Or he might say that the LASIK would help it. One way to find out. Or, if you've decided who you want to do the surgery with, make an appointment to visit the LASIK doctor. He should be able to tell you what's safest and best for you. Good luck!
 
FriedToast: Thanks for the input. I'd definately go in for another appointment and get informed before getting the go-ahead. The whole retinal detachment thing worries me, and so does the cost of say lasik surgery vs the emergency surgery I'd have to go through should the retina detach. I definately need to get more info on the whole thing. The idea of seeing well again is sooooo tempting.
 
i have also heard it's a good idea to wait until one is 25. it would be very frustrating to get it done say at 21 or so, then see your eye shape change a little more, and have to go again I think.
 
http://www.lasikinstitute.org/faqs.html

You should pay particular attention to this:

http://www.lasikinstitute.org/risk.html

You must understand the risks of this surgery, although it has a very high rate of success (something like 98%) some of the complications can be quite nasty and blindness is a possibility. Do you want to gamble with you vision? If the risks are worth it to you, the results are often very appreciated. The two people in my office say it was the best money they ever spent, both are 20/20 or better.
 
What I would like to know is what happens if your eyesight changes after the operation.
I've had contacts/glasses for 6 years or so and gradually my eyesight worsened until last year when it was around ~ -6.0 for both eyes.
Is it possible to do this twice?

BTW you might want to wait undergoing this operation. I heared a while ago that doctors and scientists in Germany found a way to improve eyesight with laser surgery to 200%-300% above normal healthy eyesight!!!
So you might wanna wait until this procedure becomes mainstream... (I do)
 
I had it done, and now I have 20/15. It's been about 4 months since I got the procedure done, and it's great. It cost me about $1500 for both eyes. It's soooooooooo nice not to screw with contacts and glasses in the morning. I got it done when I was 23 BTW.
 
I'm 23 right now, and plan on getting it done after my glasses break, whenvever that will be. Probably in a year or two. I think it's a lot safer and better now than it was a few years ago, but it sure doesn't hurt to wait.
 
i've had a few friends who have gotten it done, they love it.

it's a very short and painless procedure, you'll be ready to go the next day. like Raspewtin says, go by number of surgeries performed when finding a doctor.
 
Read this site before you decide:

Surgical Eyes

Personally, I think the risk is too great for an elective procedure. Many places estimate complication rates of 5-10%.

Many places only report the vision correction, 20/20 or 20/15, but many people get painfully dry eyes (which can take >1 year to get better, if ever), and also can't drive at night due to halos, etc. These people are still considered "successes" even though they have these complications because their vision is "20/40" or better.

Also, pupil size can affect the results. My doctor said my pupils were too big anyway even if I wanted to do it. The complication rate is much higher with pupils above a certain size.

My vision is too important to me to take the chance.

Jason
 
I have 4 family members who had Lasik surgery, my mom, both of my brothers, and my sister in law. All of them have been satisfied with the results. They experienced halos around lights at night for about a month after the surgery, but they gradually got better and eventually went away.

For anyone thinking about getting it done, it's much much cheaper in Canada for some reason. We went to Toronto for all the above surgeries, and the surgeon was among the most experienced.
 
By "halos" do you guys mean the effect of a pinpoint of light turning into a ball? Driving at night is a bitch for me, if I get into heavy traffic/heavily lighted areas it just becomes a sea of lights & I can't see for sh!t.

Viper GTS <-- Going to get his vision checked sometime before the end of the month.
 


<< By &quot;halos&quot; do you guys mean the effect of a pinpoint of light turning into a ball? Driving at night is a bitch for me, if I get into heavy traffic/heavily lighted areas it just becomes a sea of lights &amp; I can't see for sh!t.

Viper GTS <-- Going to get his vision checked sometime before the end of the month. >>



Yup yup, that's exactly what halo's are.
 
Y'all want some scary info, check out that www.surgicaleyes.com and read some of the testimonials under Personal Experiences. Been reading that for about the past hour or so. I was considering LASIK this fall (been on my mind for a long time), but now I'm not so sure...
 
Friedtoast,

Read my links above, in particular the risks page. Near the bottom they list the statistics on the risk factors and rates of complications, they specifically note the rate of complications is less than .3% after the doctor has done 1000 corrections. (it should be noted the sample was only 100 so they are doing some sort of statistical correction to get the .3%)
 
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